This Garlic Butter Chicken Pasta is made with crispy, pan-fried chicken and cooked pasta tossed in a delicious, flavorful garlic butter sauce infused with herbs. This easy one-pan chicken pasta recipe is perfect for a quick weeknight dinner, ready in under 30 minutes. Here's how to make it with step-by-step photos and a video recipe.
This garlic butter pasta with chicken was inspired by my popular garlic butter chicken bites. I've had readers ask about adding noodles or pasta, so here's how I turn those juicy chicken bites into a quick and flavorful chicken dinner.
I first made this garlic butter chicken pasta on a rainy evening with some leftover pasta. A little garlic, butter, herbs, and pan-seared chicken turned into such a delicious dinner that I had to share it on my blog.
You can also make this garlic butter chicken pasta recipe using spaghetti, egg noodles, or other long pasta. More chicken pasta recipes that you might like are our Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta, Chicken Macaroni, and Tomato Spinach Chicken Pasta.
Jump to:
- Quick Look: Garlic Butter Chicken Pasta Recipe
- Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Watch how to make it
- Ingredients Notes
- How to make Garlic Butter Chicken Pasta (With Stepwise Photos)
- Tips for the Best Garlic Butter Chicken Pasta
- What to serve with Garlic Butter Chicken Pasta?
- Recipe FAQs
- Other Chicken Pasta Recipes to Try!
- Recipe Card
- More Pasta Recipes You May Like
Quick Look: Garlic Butter Chicken Pasta Recipe
- ⏱ Prep Time: 8 minutes
- 🍳 Cook Time: 10 minutes
- 🔥 Calories: ~316 kcal per serving
- 🍝 Key Ingredients: Chicken breast, spaghetti (or noodles), garlic, butter, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, soy sauce, and Parmesan (optional)
- ♨ Cook Method: Cook pasta → marinate and pan-fry chicken → make garlic butter sauce → add chicken back → toss with pasta until well coated
- 🌶 Spice Level: Mild to Medium (adjustable with red pepper flakes)
- 😋 Flavor Profile: Buttery, garlicky, savory, slightly spicy, and comforting
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy, perfect for busy weeknight dinners and ready in under 20 minutes
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Ready in under 30 minutes, perfect for busy weeknights.
- Juicy chicken and pasta coated in a rich, buttery garlic sauce.
- Made with simple pantry ingredients.
- Family-friendly and a great way to use leftover pasta or cooked chicken.
Watch how to make it
Ingredients Notes
This recipe is so versatile. You can add spinach, mushrooms, or even a handful of cherry tomatoes for a complete meal. Or keep it plain and let the garlic butter sauce shine. You can swap chicken for prawn/shrimp.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for full ingredients, quantities, and a printable version.
- Chicken: I have used boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but you can also use boneless chicken thighs for this pasta recipe. Even leftover rotisserie chicken or oven-baked tandoori chicken can be used.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic gives a very nice flavor to the garlic butter sauce.
- Butter: I used unsalted butter for this chicken pasta recipe, but you can also use salted butter; do not add salt to the pasta sauce.
- Olive oil: I used refined olive oil for this recipe.
- Seasoning: I always have Italian seasoning in my kitchen pantry. You can substitute it with pizza or pasta seasoning, or use a combination of ½ teaspoon oregano and ½ teaspoon rosemary for this recipe.
- Dark Soy Sauce: Dark soy sauce adds a rich color and mild umami flavor to the pasta. Regular soy sauce works too.
- Pasta: Any long pasta like spaghetti, fettuccine, or Italian dry noodles works great for this pasta recipe. I tried making it with egg noodles, but I cook it for a very short time in the sauce and serve it immediately. Otherwise, egg noodles tend to overcook quickly.
How to make Garlic Butter Chicken Pasta (With Stepwise Photos)
Preparations
1) Cook 150 grams of pasta in salted water as per package directions. Cook 1 minute less than the time instructed on the package. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain and keep them aside.
2) Marinate the 300 grams of boneless, skinless chicken cubes with ½ teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of pepper, and 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of cornstarch over it, combine, and set this aside.
3) In a small bowl, combine ½ cup of pasta water, ¼ teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of vinegar, ½ teaspoon of sugar, ½ teaspoon of pepper, and ½ teaspoon of cornstarch. Your sauce mix is ready. Set it aside.
Making Garlic Butter Chicken Pasta
4) Heat 2 teaspoon of oil and 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces to the pan, leaving some space between them so they cook crispy. Flip the chicken once its side starts to turn golden. Cook until golden on the other side, too. Do not aim for a dark brown color, or the chicken will get overcooked.
5) Remove the chicken to a plate, leaving the excess oil in the pan. Reduce the heat and add 1 tablespoon butter. Add 2 teaspoon of chopped garlic. Sauté until the garlic is light golden (not dark brown). Now add 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning to the garlic butter. Cook for a few seconds.
6) Increase the heat to medium and add 2 tablespoon water to deglaze the pan. Scrape any tiny bits sticking to the bottom of the pan with your spatula. Stir the prepared sauce and add it to the pan. Cook, stirring continuously, until the pasta sauce thickens.
7) Add the chicken back to the pan and cook it in the sauce for a minute. It helps to retain the moisture in chicken.
8) Add the cooked pasta and toss with pasta sauce until everything is combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Remove from heat.
9) Add Cilantro (coriander leaves)/parsley. Garlic butter chicken pasta is ready to serve. For an extra burst of cheesy goodness, sprinkle some Parmesan on top. It's incredibly delicious.
Tips for the Best Garlic Butter Chicken Pasta
- Fresh garlic for best flavor: I always use finely chopped fresh garlic instead of paste for the best flavor.
- Cook the pasta al dente: Al dente means the pasta should have a slight bite. I prefer to cook it one minute less than the package instructions. This way, when we cook it again with the sauce, the pasta won't get overcooked. Reserve pasta water, as it is the base of our pasta sauce that adds a ton of flavor to this pasta recipe.
- Don't overcook the garlic: Be very careful while cooking garlic; it can turn bitter if overcooked (if it gets a dark brown color).
- Don't overcook the chicken: Do not aim for a dark golden color while pan-searing the chicken. Chicken breasts get overcooked easily.
What to serve with Garlic Butter Chicken Pasta?
I love to serve this simple chicken pasta recipe with this quick and easy Mediterranean cucumber and tomato salad, roasted Mediterranean vegetables, or roasted potatoes.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can. Cook and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Reheat with a splash of water or chicken broth.
Yes, you can. Add them to the pasta sauce, stir, and cook for a minute, and then add cooked pasta.
Any long pasta like spaghetti, fettuccine, or Italian noodles works great, but short pasta like penne or fusilli also works well.
Store the leftover garlic butter chicken pasta within 2 hours of cooking. Transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate. It stays good for 2-3 days. This is not a freezer-friendly recipe, as the texture of pasta changes (after freezing and thawing).
Recipe Card
Garlic Butter Chicken Pasta
Video
Equipment
- 1 Heavy-bottomed skillet or pan
Ingredients
- 150 grams spaghetti pasta or dry noodles
To marinate the chicken
- 300 grams boneless skinless chicken breast
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch or cornflour
For the sauce
- ½ cup of pasta water reserved after cooking pasta or chicken broth
- ¼ teaspoon salt optional: pasta water and soy sauce are salty so add salt accordingly
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon cornstarch/cornflour
Other ingredients
- 2 teaspoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter - to pan fry the chicken pieces.
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 teaspoon chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley or coriander leaves (optional)
Instructions
- Cook pasta in salted water as per package directions. Cook 1 minute less than the time instructed on the package. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain and keep them aside.
- Marinate the chicken with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Sprinkle cornstarch over it, combine, and set it aside.
- In a small bowl, combine pasta water, salt, dark soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, pepper, and cornstarch. Your sauce mix is ready. Set it aside.
- Heat 2 teaspoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces to the pan, leaving some space between them so they cook crispy. Flip the chicken once its side starts to turn golden. Cook until golden on the other side too. Do not aim for a dark brown color, or the chicken will get overcooked.
- Remove the chicken to a plate, leaving the excess oil in the pan.
- Reduce the heat and add 1 tablespoon butter. Add garlic. Sauté until the garlic is light golden (not dark brown). Now add red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning to garlic butter. Cook for a few seconds.
- Increase the heat to medium and add 2 tablespoon water to deglaze the pan. Scrape any tiny bits sticking to the bottom of the pan with your spatula.
- Stir the prepared sauce and add it to the pan. Cook, stirring continuously, until the pasta sauce thickens.
- Add the chicken back to the pan and cook it in the sauce for a minute. It helps to retain the moisture in chicken.
- Add the cooked pasta and toss until everything is combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Remove from heat.
- Add Cilantro (coriander leaves)/parsley. Serve immediately. For an extra burst of cheesy goodness, sprinkle some Parmesan on top. It's incredibly delicious.
Notes
- Use fresh garlic: Finely chopped fresh garlic gives the best flavor. I prefer it over garlic paste for this garlic butter pasta.
- Cook pasta al dente: Cook the pasta 1 minute less than the package instructions. It will continue cooking in the garlic butter sauce and stay perfectly tender. Reserve some pasta water to create a silky pasta sauce.
- Do not burn the garlic: Garlic cooks quickly and can turn bitter if it becomes dark brown. Sauté it just until fragrant.
- Avoid overcooking the chicken: Chicken breast cooks fast and can dry out easily. Cook just until done and lightly golden.
- Adjust butter and olive oil: Use more butter for a richer flavor or more olive oil for a lighter pasta dish. Both work well in this recipe.
- Season carefully: Pasta water and soy sauce already contain salt. Taste the sauce first and add extra salt only if needed.
- Storage: Store leftover garlic butter chicken pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This recipe is not freezer-friendly, as the pasta texture changes after freezing and thawing.
- Read our full nutrition disclaimer here.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Adil k
it was such a delicious dish. The flavors were so simple yet satisfying. Thanks for sharing. Will definitely make it again.
Preeti
You're welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's one of my favorites.